The End of the Year

Yup, tonight is the end of the year, and while it is a special night for everyone, it is very special for me...

Rory turned SIX today. SIX!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?! It doesn't seem possible that it has been so long since I held the little babe in my arms and toasted the new year with my husband in the hospital.

I am tearing up as I write this.

Rory is becoming such a little man. A really good one at that. He is polite, nice to others, fair, and just an easy going person.

He is growing up so fast.

We celebrated his birthday at The Hop, had a great crowd show up, and of course it was all pirate themed.


I am so blessed to have had the chance to spend the last 6 years at home with him. He is really a blessing.

I love you baby boy. I can't believe it takes 2 hands to count how old you are now, it just doesn't seem possible.

Someday you will become a man who will surprise us all. I can't wait to see who that man is. (Well, I can wait, lol, and wish it took longer.)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is here, my children are snug in their beds, but I doubt it is sugar plumbs dancing in their heads...

Santa has already made his way here, and I would guess the boys are dreaming of what he might have brought... want a sneak peak?

What a Holiday adventure!

We have had quite the adventure, and a GREAT reason for not posting a blog entry over the last week...

On Friday, it snowed some, and a bunch was called for. I let the boys play in the snow, and they had a great time! Here are a few shots:






Carl was out of town, and we needed groceries. So I packed the boys up, headed out into the storm for a bit to get a few groceries and to get a nice hot lunch... We got home, drove over to the neighbors for a few minutes to say hi... and there we find out that the power was out.

Ok, no biggie, people around here have never driven in snow and have a really hard time with it, and hit poles all the time in the winter. So I pack the kids back into the car and with quite a bit of difficulty, drive it to our house... but I didn't make it far into the driveway before... well, in an hour or two, we went from 2 inches to this:


No big deal, I was out of the road and in the driveway, and hey, the power had come back on and we had no where to go! It was set to be a night of cuddling and enjoying hot cocoa as the snow fell.

Oh how the snow fell, it was a hard, wet snow. One of those snows where you get wet and can't just brush it off.

Over the next few hours, the cable and internet went out, and then the electric began to blink on and off, over and over. I decided to send the boys to bed, thinking that if the electric did go out, it would be easier if the boys were in bed and they didn't have to be trying to find things in the dark... I filled the bath tubs with water (because we are on a well and no electric means no potty flushing unless you have water), I filled bottles, found candles and a light, and added extra quilts to the beds.

Well preparing slightly turned out to be a good decision... because about 30 minutes later, the lights went out, along with the heat, the water, and everything else. I did take a few photos to show how much snow we were getting at about 7pm:

Then 9:


And by 10:30, the ruler was gone and the snow was about 16 inches deep.

Saturday morning we wake up a little chilly, the temperature in the house was about 58. Not awful, just enough to throw on an extra shirt and we were good to go. As the day wore on, and the snow kept falling, we realized the power might be off for a while and found out why there was no electric... That WET snow I mentioned... yeah, our power lines were in the road, along with the cable and phones.




67,000 people in 2 counties were without power!!

Here were a few other shots I was able to grab (we didn't want to be wet or colder, or open the doors to let the little heat we did have out...)



And in this one, note how much deeper the snow was!



So, to pass the time we took a few photos and knitted... and I remembered to grab one of Canyon's noggin... (Now some of these were before we lost power...)









Well, it began to get cold, so after a cold lunch, I thought to bury my frozen turkey in a cooler in the snow to keep it from defrosting too soon for Christmas... and then I made the kids stay in my bedroom, with our candles lit, and was able to get the temperature up to 50degrees or so. Canyon and Arden began jumping from the one chair in my room to the toddler bed I set up for Arden to sleep in, and low and behold, Canyon jumps into the window sill and blackens his eye, dents his eyebrow, and gets a wicked cut. That put an end to the play time and around 6:30 we went to bed.

Sunday morning we woke up and were able to see our breath in the room. It was cold... the only thing that was no longer cold was the fridge... all of our food had begun to spoil. At this point I remembered that we had a dinner party we were supposed to attend and I texted our friends that we had gotten snowed in and wouldn't be able to make it...

As the day went on, the temperature didn't go up at all, and the kids weren't getting warm. I decided to allow myself to depend on the generosity of friends and we spent the next night with them.

Monday was operation hamster extraction... when we left, we took only what we needed, and left Houdini the hamster, and the dogs at home... but as the day wore on I began to worry about the hamster. I knew the dogs were fine, but Houdini I wasn't so sure. I was able to get him out, and home to our friends AND I had the van now!

On Tuesday night, the electric was back on, I was home and in my bed and Carl finally made it home. I helped a car that was stuck in the snow/mud get out, and got muddy and wet... but also got to sled ride with the boys some. We even went out to see Santa.


Today, we went and got Houdini, helped stuck motorists out of the neighborhood, and cleaned the mess that we made while being snowed in.

Our internet came on a few hours ago, and not a moment too soon!

I hope everyone had a great week and a wonderful Solstice! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas too!

The snow is falling!!

More photos of us enjoying the wonderful winter weather coming tonight when we are done playing in it!!

All clear...

It looks like we are all well again and back to normal! (Whatever normal is, lol.)

Canyon has/is cutting 4 molars at once, and the poor guy was MISERABLE for the last 2 days... he has taken to showing us his frustration by banging his head on the floor, walls, dryer, dishwasher, fridge, my head, my face, and anywhere else he can! His forehead is actually bruised and looks awful! I will have to get a photo of it tomorrow. He has stopped for now, but I am thinking about talking to him about a helmet and seeing if he will wear it when he gets mad! Poor guy, he wants to communicate his anger so bad!

Otherwise, we are all good, I went to the chiro today to get rid of an ongoing headache, it worked great.

Photos to come tomorrow! I am hoping for a snow day! We are expecting 5+ inches! WHOOHOO!

And it is back...

Rory was sent home less than an hour after getting to school, he vomited in class. They kindly let us know when we picked him up that he wasn't allowed to come tomorrow either...

I don't get it... I thought you only got this once? It better not pass through the family over and over...

I have scrubbed down everything, I even broke down and used bleach. All of the laundry has been washed... now what?

Phew...

Sorry I have been MIA from the blog... we had an interesting week... Well not so much interesting as gross.

A stomach virus violently passed through all members of the household over the last week or so, and all I can say is that I am glad it is over and glad it was short lived for each of us! I have never been so sick in my life. Carl and I both wondered if we were going to make it.

To those of you who haven't have the stomach virus yet, THANK GOD! Really. It is that bad.

As for me today, now that Rory is in school and I have a little peace, I am cleaning up the laundry, dishes, and messes that got neglected while we were all taking turns with the sickies.

All I can say is phew.

My Men on Monday...

Today started off pretty cold, but by afternoon was perfect for playing!

Here is a random shot of Carl and Rory...


And no, I don't know what they were doing!

Arden's hat is done!

He picked the colors based on the pants he was wearing that day:


And here is the hat! I love it!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

We are home from our adventurous travels, and boy are we happy to be here. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed in your own home.

We had a great time on our trip. We got to see a lot of family, Carl and I went on a date, and we even got to see some snow!

The "funk" that Arden had (and is getting over), has now made it full circle around the family, and even Carl and I are taking our turn with it. We are glad that it seems to be passing fairly quickly and not lingering too long.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and will see you as soon as the "funk" passes :o)

Wonderful Day...

Grammy and DadDad took Carl, myself, and the boys to an indoor "amusment" park thing today, and we all had a blast!

We bowled, moon bounced, rode bumper-cars, rode the tea cups, played games, and just enjoyed some time together. It was great...

Then Grammy offered to watch the monsters while Carl and I went on a date!

It was great, we went to an establishment that we wouldn't frequent with kids, ate HOT wings, watched WVU beat Pitt, and had a great time... We might have to make it happen more often, it was really wonderful.

OH~ I finished Arden's hat last night too! I need to get up a photo, I LOVE IT!

A few Thanksgiving photos...

Our little guys are all snotty and goopy, but they seem to be making the best of the day with the family... Here are a few shots of the boys at the park:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just popping in to say Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! We hope that you have a wonderful day filled with friends and family.

This year we all have so much to be thankful for, and believe me, we are.

A quick shot of a turkey will end this post, and I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Just a few pics...

From our drive.

First up is a pic of the Can-man from today:


Isn't he just a cutie-pie? He is turning into a huge camera ham!

Here are my other boys taking a look at the view:


And me checking out the river:


We had a beautiful drive today and I'm thankful for the lack of traffic! Things went smoothly and we are safe and sound waiting for a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Just a recent hat...

I'm finally knitting Arden that hat I promised him, lol. Now that I got done the super-girly hat for my niece, I have gotten his started.

Here is what I have done so far; Arden picked the colors:

Plans...

We have all heard the old Yiddish proverb "Man plans, God laughs" (Mann traoch, Gott Lauch), and it is so true!

We planned on heading out for the Thanksgiving holiday today, I planned on spending my day packing, loading the car, and hitting the road by late afternoon.

Needless to say, it didn't happen and the plans changed.

The van now has a working radiator. I figure now that there is a new transmission and new radiator in the van it should be running like new, right? LOL. It took until the afternoon for that to get finished, and I planned on getting the clothes and things packed to go while Carl was waiting for the van... Well, that didn't happen either, lol.

My middle son was a bit snotty last night and by this morning had become quite goopy and began to cry over an ear ache. We treated the ear with some black current seed oil which stopped the pain, and made him feel somewhat better, but he spent the day sitting in mama's lap wanting love and comfort. (To be honest it feels nice to be needed and loved so much by my little man.)

I planned on getting him dressed to o out and run errands... but I ended up letting him wear his footie PJs all day, even out to our Tuesday night dinner. Can you blame me? I just wanted him to be comfy and to feel better.

So here it is, 9:30 PM and I am now getting around to packing and cleaning.

I plan on leaving here early in the morning, but we shall see how amusing God finds those plans too :o)

I am thankful that my little guy has kept his spirits up, and that he doesn't seem too miserable, and that we will have a safe vehicle to drive tomorrow.

Just in case we don't get to update while traveling, Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope that you all get to spend some time with those you love and reflect on things that you are thankful for!

Little things...

Today, I have decided to realize how thankful I am for the little things :O) There are so many things we often take for granted.

I am thankful that my family has enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, running water, shoes that fit, and lives in one of the most beautiful places on the east coast.

I am thankful for a wonderful supportive family from my in-laws and my family.

I'm thankful that I have friends who love, support, listen, and cherish me.

I am thankful for the van I am driving, even if it does like to break down. It almost always gets us from point A to B, and I'm pretty sure it will continue to do so with a little TLC and encouragement.

I am thankful for my education and college degree even if I don't get to use it. Knowing the difference between words such as "your" and "you're" and between "it's" and "its" are fairly important in the English language, especially if you are ever going to be a professional in ANY field (as is knowing proper punctuation and capitalization). Little things such as these make all the difference between someone knowing you are intelligent and realizing that you really aren't. ;)

Little things that we often overlook are the things we shouldn't overlook and should be the most thankful for.

I'm just thankful all around today, and hope you all find something to be thankful for today too!

End of the warmth...

This morning, before it got too cold, and before the rain began to fall, I mowed our yard for the last time of the season.

Our riding mower broke a few months back, and I had to push mow the property. Since the grass was getting long enough to fold over, and we are running short on warm days and dry weather, I figured today was the day.

I got the front done, then half the back, and then it began to rain. I had to send the kids into the house while I finished mowing in the rain.

I'm thankful that there was only a little of the yard left to mow when the rain started, and thankful that it was warm enough to get it all done and to let the children play outside while I mowed.

After we mowed, there was a "Rock Star" birthday party where all three boys got up to sing into microphones. Rory surprised me and sang an "original" song that he made up. It was great! So happy B-Day S, we hope you had a great time too!

Here is Rory (minus his tie) ready for the party:


Overall, even with the rain, it was a beautiful day today.

Georgous weather...

There aren't many places that have the weather we do in the mountains of NC.

I am so thankful for warm days in the latter half of November, days so warm that my children don't even need jackets.

Just wait though, the weather here changes fast, I'm holding onto hope for early season snow for skiing!

My wonderful and aggravating children...

I am so thankful for my wonderful yet aggravating children... even in our most trying minutes, they are so fun loving and innocent.

This morning was a little stressful while trying to get Rory to school and we were a little late trying to get everyone out the door...

I knew we were low (like gas light on for 15 miles already low) on gas, and that the bank was closed until 9 or 10, so we had limited gas... we are running short on time, and it is cold out. So I get the kids in their seats (no gas or time to warm up the car) and jump in, throw on the wipers and realize that the steam/fogged up windows aren't actually fogged up. They were covered in ice.

Great.

So I reach down to grab my ice scrapper from under my seat, and it isn't there. I begin searching the car, and then seem to remember seeing it in the kitchen closet by the door. So I go in the house and search. I can't find it anywhere.

In the meantime I had been verbalizing what I was looking for and Arden was laughing in his seat, which meant Canyon was too.

I finally come out of the house and try to find something in the car to use as a scraper. I figured I would ask to see if the kids had any idea what happened to the scrapper... and this is the response I get...

"Mama, it is in the washing machine," followed by giggling from all 3 boys. (Arden is the one that finally cracked, I'm not sure which was the culprit though.)

Low-and-behold when I go in the laundry area and pull ALL the clothes out of the washer, my ice scrapper appeared.

What in the world are they thinking?! This is the third time this week that they have hidden items of mine in the washer. Thank goodness it hasn't been the phone yet!

While my children are frustrating, it was pretty amusing, and they are so cute you can't help but smile!

Oh and we made it to school with 2 minutes to spare and I think we still have enough gas to get to the gas station and bank :)

Friendships.

I am so thankful for the friendships that I have made here in Asheville (and all over the country really).

I went out for lunch yesterday with a dear friend, and it feels so nice to have things shared with you, and to share things with a friend the way we did. It really makes you feel good.

So, to all my friends out there, I am thankful for you, and if we don't get to talk/hang out/chat as much as we used to, I'm missing you and hoping we get together more soon.

I love you all!! Friends are a wonderful part of life!

Life as it is...

Although there are those days when I get frustrated, feel unappreciated, feel like nothing I do is enough... the majority of the days I get to spend as a stay-at-home-mom are wonderful.

I am thankful for the opportunity to be here with my children and to get to experience them growing up, learning, and becoming the little men that they are so quickly growing into. I love the time with the kids, each day I think that they teach me more then I will ever teach them.

I know that I have missed out on some things because of the life I have chosen, but really, it has been worth it and I wouldn't change it for the world.

My husband.

Today I am thankful for my husband Carl.

He is my other half, and knows when I need him. I love him dearly and am glad to have him as my support, and I am happy he has chosen to be with me for life. Besides, after 3 kids, I think we are pretty much stuck. (Good thing I like him eh?)

Love you baby.

(I know this photo is already on here, but I love his eyes in it... and it is recent, lol.)

Wonderful Company

I am so thankful for the neighborhood I live in.

D.R. is wonderful, and honestly we have come to think of her as family. Last night she took me Zydeco Dancing, and I had a blast!

Our neighbors on the hill are wonderful too! They have 2 beautiful boys that entertain my boys, and every Monday night we all enjoy a nice family dinner together.

There is something to be said for the close relationships with neighbors. It really is nice.

Beautiful Weekend.

This weekend has been perfect! Not a cloud in the sky, unseasonably warm, and just perfect.

The rivers and streams have water topping the banks, the fish were biting, and the scene was wonderful.

A friend of mine is putting up a "I'm thankful for..." each day this month, I am going to as well.

I'm thankful for the rain that has made our rivers and streams swell in their banks and that has fed our landscape, giving it the beautiful colors.

A few photos of the weekend...

Canyon has a new addiction. The boy is insanely attached to fishing poles now. If he sees one, he will start freaking out and screaming until he gets to hold and play with it. This afternoon he saw a pole in the floor of the car and was in hysterics until we got out of the car and he was removed from the temptation. What am I in for??!!

Here are a few shots of him with the pole by the river this weekend:



Here is one of Carl with Arden sleeping (maybe just laying) on his back while he fished:


And just a few of my dreads:

Long day...

The viewing for DM was today, we drove up from NC to WV this morning, and it wasn't a bad trip overall. The kids enjoyed themselves at the viewing, and I think people enjoyed having them there.

The boys really do light up people around them. Little Canyon had a book with him that he kept taking up to people yelling "book" and trying to get people to look at it with him! It was so cute...

Anyway, I hope all is well with you all and will see many of you tomorrow.

Disproportionate responses...

Today we went to the Nature Center in the morning, and while we were driving home, Carl and I were talking about lunch. Rory interrupted with a, "Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Can I have tea with lunch?"
Me (teasing him) "Well, I don't know... Dad do you think he is allowed to have tea?"
Dad (joking as well) "No, Rory, you can't have tea."
Rory responds with "I can't have tea? SWORD FIGHT!!!" as he begins waving around a plastic sword he uses with his pirate costume.

How in the world is that a proportionate reaction?! And where did that violence come from? Needless to say, Carl and I found it hilarious and were laughing for a while.

We also went to the river today. We caught some fish, hung out, played on the cobblestone shore, and just enjoyed our Sunday!

Here are a few photos: